Wooden flutes. Top held on with leather string. Engraved ribs around the flute.

Flutes have existed in Native American cultures since at least 625 C.E., when the earliest known flute was created. They have been made from many materials, including wood, reed, and bone, and are typically vertical. In the Plains region, the wooden flute’s soothing melodic sound is known as a courting instrument, whose sound would help a man woo his beloved (Fauntleroy 2006).